Sit Down with Schutz: Daniel Halonen
Daniel Halonen is one of a few late additions to this Shamrocks roster, and made his presence known immediately. Halonen transitioned to Watertown straight from the Minnesota State Hockey tournament, representing Delano High. Halonen said, “Yeah, it’s been good. I mean, it’s not a whole lot different. It’s a little bit faster, a little bit more physical, but if you play with good players, it’s pretty easy to adjust.” Despite feeling relatively comfortable, there has been some shock at this new level. Halonen said, “Just the amount of space you have on the ice. It’s a lot less. So as soon as you get the puck, you have to make a quick play, otherwise the guys will be on top of you.”
In Halonen’s five previous games played, he has five points, with four of those coming from goals. He has helped spark this offense. Halonen said, “I just try to get into spots where I can get the puck from my teammates and then try to see if I can shoot on net and let it go in.” Halonen’s immediate success has also helped to grow his confidence at this level. He said, “Yeah, 100%. Seeing that puck go in, it for sure helps your confidence. And then when you get another shot, you think it’s going to go in. And if you have that confidence, it usually goes in more often than not.”
Halonen joined this team at the peak of their playoff push, hoping to help them gain ground. He’s had to adjust, but is trying to keep his mindset on one game at a time. Halonen said, “It’s definitely changed a little bit. I mean, these games, these next few, are not must-wins, but I say we want them very bad. I mean, if we can close out and clinch a playoff berth this weekend, that’d be huge.” Halonen, coming straight from the state tournament, understands what must-win games feel like. He said, “Going from there, I was already in the playoff mindset for weeks before I came here, and then just come here, finish out the regular season, kind of still in that mindset. And then, you know, going into playoffs here, I’ll probably still have a little bit of that still with me.”
Halonen is committed to playing Division I hockey at Michigan Tech University. Before he makes the jump there, Halonen is using his time in Watertown to prepare. He said, “I mean, it’s kind of interesting as you go up the ranks of hockey, it’s just time and space. You get less and less and less, and the more you can develop in certain leagues and different leagues, you get used to playing with less time and space, and you go up. I know for sure this’ll help me make that jump.”
Despite Halonen’s short time so far here in Watertown, he is grateful for how the community has embraced him. Halonen said, “It’s been great. I mean, every time you come to town for a game, you can feel the energy. It’s really cool to play in front of these fans.”
Thank you, Daniel, for sitting down with me!